Considered by her contemporaries a playwright “second only to Shakespeare,” Joanna Baillie was one of the most critically acclaimed writers of the Romantic Era. The Plays on the Passions, first published in 1798, stands as her undeniable magnum opus: a multivolume series of tragedies and comedies exploring the overruling passions of the mind.

Orra: A Tragedy in Five Acts, which comes from that series' third volume, is Joanna Baillie’s haunting meditation on fear and madness. It is gothic melodrama par excellence. Set in fourteenth century Switzerland, Baillie's play skillfully intertwines psychological horror with early feminist thought. Orra, in love with Theobald, is exiled to a haunted castle in the Black Forest after rejecting a marriage proposal from her ward's son. She is further threatened by the nefarious machinations of Rudigere, a pathologically jealous knight whose desire for Orra verges on obsession. Then there’s the castle itself, a dark and gothic abode that soon brings Orra to the brink of abject terror.

Will Orra survive her expulsion into the Black Forest—or will she descend further and further into madness? ( ChuckW)

Is there a deadline?
We ask that you submit your recorded sections within 1-2 months of placing your claim. Please note that to be fair to the readers who have completed their sections in a timely way, if you haven't submitted your recording(s) after two months, your sections will automatically be re-opened for other readers to claim, unless you post in this thread to request an extension. Extensions will be granted at the discretion of the Book Coordinator. If you cannot do your section, for whatever reason, just let me know and it'll go back to the pool. There's no shame in this; we're all volunteers and things happen.Please do not sign up for more sections than you can complete within the two month deadline.

How to claim a part, and "how it all works" here
To find a section to record, simply look at point 5. below at the sections. All the ones without names beside them are "up for grabs." Click "Post reply" at the top left of the screen and tell us which section you would like to read (include the section number from the left-most column in the reader list, please). Read points 6. to 8. below for what to do before, during and after your recording.

Please claim roles (the numbers in the first column below)! Please note: All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. When you submit your recording, you will be placing your recording in the public domain as well.

If this is your first recording, please let me know under which name or pseudonym you'd like to appear in the LibriVox catalogue. We can also link to a personal website/blog.

Please don't download or listen to files belonging to projects in process (unless you are the BC or PL). Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!

Magic Window:

BC Admin
===========================================
This paragraph is temporary and will be replaced by the MC with the list of sections and reader (Magic Window) once this project is in the admin system.

Make sure you add this to the beginning of your recording:[Role], read by [your name].

If you are reading stage directions, please include for each file:At the beginning: Act [#] of Orra by Joanna Baillie. This is a Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit Librivox dot org.

At the end: End of Act [#].

Please remember to check this thread frequently for updates!

AFTER recordingSave files as 128 kbps MP3
orra_[role]_[#].mp3 (all lower-case) where ## is the act number.

Transfer of files (completed recordings) Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file. Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.

Yeah, I know this is somewhat out of character. I'm mostly known for launching plays from the early twentieth century... but what can I say? The more I read from and learned about Joanna Baillie, the more I wanted to do one of her plays!

If this goes well, I'd love to produce more of her gothic tragedies, particularly Witchcraft and De Monfort. But we'll use Orra as a test run. We'll see where this takes us.

I'll be doing the editing, of course. I actually have more time to edit than record, so please don't take that away from me.

I'd obviously welcome a DPL, but am willing to do it myself if no one is interested.

I'll also take a role... eventually. I want to see what you guys are interested in first.

Good thing to tell me about, becuz the catalog page summary gets set from the original posting - changes in the forum posting don't automatically transfer. If you are happy with it now I will change the MW database entry.

Good thing to tell me about, becuz the catalog page summary gets set from the original posting - changes in the forum posting don't automatically transfer. If you are happy with it now I will change the MW database entry.

Thanks, Todd

Yes, it should be good. The grammar was a little wonky, so I made some slight adjustments. Blame my enthusiasm for the project for failing to proofread before posting.

Haha. You know, I don't think I've ever really associated a specific age with your voice... so I doubt that'll be an issue...

I think you'd be perfect for this... and I'm not just saying that because I've spent most of the afternoon editing in your sound files from Princess Zoubaroff. Thanks for volunteering! So glad you were able to snatch up the big, tricky role for yourself.

Oh man, so many roles to choose from. I'd love to claim a role, but I'm not sure which one would best suit me. I can play a character of any age, I suppose, though my natural voice would suit someone younger. Any recommendations, Chuck, since this is your project?

Tomas Peter

Currently signed up for:The Goddess | The Gondoliers | The Country Wife | A Little Bit of Fluff | Crossings: A Fairy Play | The Lying Lover | Every Man Out of His Humour

Oh, yowza! What a productive night! So much happened while I was sleeping. Thank you all so much!

bluechien wrote:Could I please claim Eleonora?

She's yours! Thanks!

NemoR wrote:I'd like to claim Franko please .... the leader of a band of outlaws who sings? ..... yeah!!

Nemo

Haha. Yeah, Franko is great. Thanks for the claim. Do you think you'll be singing the song or chanting?

Kitty wrote:Gothic romantic ! Can't resist. Now that the Castle Spectre is done, I can help with DPL here again, if you'd like to have me again, Chuck.

Also I don't know the play, but I think I'd go for Cathrina, the maid to Orra, if that's all right.

Sonia

Thank you sooooo much, Sonia. I'm so happy to be working with you again.

And Cathrina is a great character. You pretty much spend the entire play unwittingly feeding into Orra's paranoia.

(And don't worry -- nobody knows this play. Baillie's works were extremely popular in the 19th century, but not so much in the 21st. She's only now being rediscovered and her books republished. Valancourt Press recently put together a really cool collection of all her gothic dramas.)

WiltedScribe wrote:Oh man, so many roles to choose from. I'd love to claim a role, but I'm not sure which one would best suit me. I can play a character of any age, I suppose, though my natural voice would suit someone younger. Any recommendations, Chuck, since this is your project?

Thanks Tomas. I'd love for you to take over a role. As for what's available... it all depends on what you're looking for. There are two major male roles that might be of interest: Theobald and Rudigere. Theobald is the heroic lover type who spends most of the play trying to rescue her from her exile. Rudigere, meanwhile, is a straight-up villain: a real jerk who splits his time between scheming against Orra and seducing her... all while cruelly gaslighting her, of course.

There are also some smaller roles, if you're more interested in taking a supporting role. Glottenbal is the character whose spurned advances toward Orra set off the whole horrible chain of events. Hartman and Maurice are other potential suitors, the latter of which who unwittingly aids Rudigere. And Urston is a monk.

ChuckW wrote:And Cathrina is a great character. You pretty much spend the entire play unwittingly feeding into Orra's paranoia.

yes that's what I gathered as well I think that might be fun

Theobald is the heroic lover type who spends most of the play trying to rescue her from her exile. Rudigere, meanwhile, is a straight-up villain: a real jerk who splits his time between scheming against Orra and seducing her... all while cruelly gaslighting her, of course.

if you want my opinion, Tomas, I much prefer you in the role of the villain. I adored your mean streak in Paul Jones

NemoR wrote:I'd like to claim Franko please .... the leader of a band of outlaws who sings? ..... yeah!!

Nemo

Haha. Yeah, Franko is great. Thanks for the claim. Do you think you'll be singing the song or chanting?

Since they are sitting around a fire drinking and it mentions a song, I think I'll go ahead and give it a good hearty drinking song try ...you know, the kind when you are sitting in the pub with your mates!

Nemo

Nemo

"I find I cannot exist without Poetry—without eternal Poetry—half the day will not do—the whole of it—I began with a little, but habit has made me a Leviathan."